Degus: Chinchillas and Piggies and Rabbits, Oh My!

[Binky]

Ok. Sooo, I've heard about housing chinchillas and degus together, and I've also a few times heard of housing degus and guinea pigs together. I also know on degus.org it says degus could also live with rabbits, but I was wondering the accuracy (for lack of a better word) of that.

Regardless of it being on degus.org, I've never read it anywhere else. I was wondering if anyone has tested that statement or known someone who has, etc.

[leplake]

It probably goes along the same line as housing guinea pigs with rabbits.. some people do it, other people think it's dangerous for the animal. Pigs and degus do eat the same base food. So it would probably be fine in that area, as long as other types of treats were separated. I think the spastic degus might irritate the guinea pig though (when i let my gerbil and pig be in the kiddy pool together, she kind of freaked him out.)

[ckane]

I would not house a degu and chin together. They have different nutritional requirements and sharing bacteria may be dangerous for them.

[Vanilla_Rat]

I wouldn't risk it.
Alot of animals from different species have different diets and requirements and also there is always that risk of injury or death!

[Jennicat]

I would never recommend mingling species, especially those as different as guinea pigs, degus, chinchillas, rabbits, etc.

[laydeerodentzz]

I' ve heard that houseing different species together can cause to 1 killing another! Don't try it unless your brave!

[Amethystbelle]

This seems to be something that keeps cropping up at the moment, i've heard of people putting degus in with rats, hamsters and gerbils in the last few months despite being warned

I know of people who do keep degus and chinnies together from a few UK Chinchilla forums and it appears to work fine but i don't condone it as at the end of the day they are two different species with different needs and nothing compares to company of their own kind. Also with chinchillas and rabbits there is the injury concern with the powerful back legs. To a chinchilla sharing a cage with a degu must be like you sharing your home with a rampaging monkey

Degus belong with other degus the same as rabbits belong with other rabbits in my opinion etc...

[leplake]

Not to start any kind of controversy on this topic, but has anyone ever actually heard of or had a bad experience when mixing animals? Or are all of the warnings simply fear of the unknown?

[Jennicat]

Unfortunately in our rescue, we've seen a lot of cross-species injuries, primarily between guinea pigs and rabbits, mainly because those are more common.

Primarily we see old, healing fight wounds, some broken ribs and spinal damage. We do see a of suspected malnutrition deaths -- liver failure and hind end paralysis in guinea pigs eating rabbit food, blindness and eventual death in rabbits eating pig food.

The case of Gumbo the Guinea Pig is pretty consistent with what we see from guinea pigs and rabbits whose ignorant owners assure us that they're "best friends":
The Case of Gumbo the Guinea Pig - or Why Not to House Rabbits with Guinea Pigs - Guinea Pig Cages Forum

Saddest to watch are those who don't really have 'problems'. Watching a lonely rabbit demand grooming over and over again from a guinea pig who has no idea what the rabbit wants (guinea pigs do not socially groom).

There was a horrific case I saw online where wild rats had vicious attacked a guinea pig who was living out in a shed. Though domestic rats are obviously not wild, it was heartbreaking to hear of the damage to the poor guinea pig, and a good warning.

In the end, it seems like a disservice to the animals you've taking into your guardianship to put them with another species for the owner's convenience.


I suspect that we would see more chinchilla, degu, ferret, and sugar glider problems if they were not so expensive. More often than not, owners will simply sell them from person to person to recoup their money, rather than turning them over to a rescue to find a suitable home for them.

[Sasami]

Quote: Originally Posted by leplake Not to start any kind of controversy on this topic, but has anyone ever actually heard of or had a bad experience when mixing animals? Or are all of the warnings simply fear of the unknown?

Yes. I'm on a few different small animal communities and you especially hear horror stories dealing with housing guinea pigs and rabbits together. Rabbits trampling a guinea pig by accident, large male rabbits trying to mate with a guinea pig and injuring it that way, un-neutered rabbits acting aggressively and attacking the guinea pig...etc.

The problem is that even if the animals are of similar size and have the same diet (and degus and chinchillas should not have the exact same diet IMO) they are still different species. What one species considers affection may be considered aggression to another animal.

For example, dogs tend to like play-wrestling for fun. This leads to problems when a dog tries to play with a cat or rabbit the same way . And when my rabbit, Fiona, starts binkying around and wanting to play with my Cocker spaniel my dog doesn't know what to do and gets nervous.

[mebri123]

throw them all together and give it a test run last one standing wins.... and the grand prize..... a new home....... lol just kidding.. I have ferrets cats and dogs. and they are all let out to play together they are fine.. they all have thier defenses and can get out of any sticky situation.... but the dogs play gentle and the cats do too.... the have been playing together since they were kittens... now my goos... i would never attemt to incorperate into the multi species zoo cause they would get eaten of course lol...... dont want that .... so my point .... dunno but my two cents is in here k he he he he

[petkeeper]

I wouldn't put degus and chins together for the size difference alone Chins and degus are related, and have very similar nutritional needs, but chins are much larger and could hurt a degu. Same as rabbits and guinea pigs..not only do they have very different nutritional needs rabbits can do a lot of damage with just hopping around the cage and doing binkies and kick backs. I would not mix species either just for the simple fact they wouldn't be mixed out in nature for a reason why should we do it in a cage!